Elle is a distinctive girls' name in England & Wales, ranking #634 in 2025 with 61 recorded births. The name reached its all-time peak in 2002 with 502 births ranking #93. Since 1996, the popularity has decreased by 75.6%. In 2025, approximately 1 in every 4,152 girls born was named Elle. FALLING Recent data shows the name is currently falling.
Elle is usually treated as a short form of Eleanor and other names beginning with El. It also carries a stylish French association because elle is the French word for she.
The name grew in visibility through modern popular culture and fashion-world recognition. Even so, its clearest name-history route is still as a shorter form from the wider Eleanor family.